Pneumatic robotic device for early delivering of rehabilitation therapy

This paper describes a new pneumatic rehabilitation robot for upper limbs to deliver Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) therapies to the acute post-stroke patients, even if they are still in supine position. The robotic device assists the therapist in repetitive PNF therapies, learning the defined movement by therapist at the same time that the patient, and then repeating it with different level of assistance. Moreover, the rehabilitation device was designed to be used for relearning daily living skills like: take a glass, drinking, etc. The proposed solution is composed by two robotic arms actuated by pneumatic swivel modules and a virtual environment for the motivation of the patient.